Welfare System

Before someone can collect welfare in Pennsylvania, they should live here for at least a year and be willing to submit to random drug testing, said Pat Browne, the Republican candidate for the 131st state House District. Browne also wants fingerprint identification procedures, computerized cross checking to prevent double dipping and debit cards for food stamps. Furthermore, he said newcomers on welfare should receive cash assistance equal to what they were getting in their former state if it is lower than Pennsylvania's rate.

I guess some people just get a kick out of bullying vulnerable people. I don't know what else would motivate columnist Paul Carpenter to write such malarkey. His recent column fanning the fire of disdain for people collecting "welfare" was pathetic. So here I am, having to clean up after Mr. Carpenter, hoping that the good people of the Lehigh Valley will continue to show compassion for those whose circumstances give them so little chance to survive in an increasingly unforgiving economy.

Welfare affects everyone in Pennsylvania. Either you get it, or you pay for it. Welfare will cost state taxpayers $2.9 billion this fiscal year, about 21 percent of the state budget. A person with taxable income of $30,000 will pay $186 into the welfare system this year in state income tax alone. There are 1.5 million Pennsylvanians getting state welfare in one form or another -- about 13 percent of the population. In Philadelphia, it's 28.5 percent -- two of every seven people.

When he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, President George H.W. Bush promised the legislation would "mainstream" Americans with disabilities, allowing them to achieve employment and live as independently as possible. Yet, the real-world effects of that landmark legislation have actually worked to keep many of these Americans out of the workforce. With costly incentives embedded into the Medicaid delivery system, the law has not rewarded citizens who seek independence from welfare.

Only a few Pawnee Street residents are out on this hot night. The neighborhood sits tucked away quietly near the the Bethlehem-Fountain Hill border. But last night inside St. John's AME Zion Church things are stirring. Auditor General Barbara Hafer is with members of the Southwest Bethlehem Community BlockWatch, answering questions and discussing issues. "I will tell you the welfare system is a failed system," she said to the about 15 people gathered in the church's basement. "The system isn't designed so there is a bridge to productivity."

The mere thought of being without a safety net terrifies Amy Kreisher, who grew up on welfare and is raising her two children the same way. Kreisher, 22,shook as she stepped to the podium during a recent public hearing on the state's new welfare system in Bethlehem's Town Hall. Will there be a job for her? Will it pay enough to live on? Will she be able to afford child care? What about medical care? And, will she lose her federally-subsidized housing? "I've never known anything but being on welfare," she said, tears in her eyes.

Leaders of the Bethlehem diocese of the Episcopal Church on Saturday approved a resolution asking Gov. Robert P. Casey and the state Legislature to investigate Pennsylvania's child welfare system, citing "institutionalized neglect and abuse of children." At its annual conference, held this year in Sayre, Bradford County, leaders of the 14-county diocese also approved resolutions condemning violence and discrimination against homosexuals and victims of AIDS, and calling for AIDS-prevention education in every congregation by the end of next year.

She goes to school full time, works part time and raises three children alone. In nine months, she believes, she will have a degree from Allentown Business School and, she hopes, a $20-an-hour job that provides her and her children -- ages 3 years, 21 months and 9 months -- with health insurance. But 21-year-old Jaymee Keller wonders whether she can hold her fragile finances together for that long, especially if she loses the cash assistance that keeps her family under a roof. "I live from day to day wondering if I can go to school or if I'm going to get a call from the assistance office that I have to get a job," she told leaders of the Lehigh Valley religious community Saturday.

Welfare reform must focus on taking better care of children, Barbara Blum, past president of the American Public Welfare Association, said yesterday. And, at the same time, the state Department of Welfare is changing to better serve people's needs, added Jerry Friedman, the department'sdeputy secretary for income maintenance and former human services director for Northampton County. The two were the featured speakers for the annual luncheon meeting of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, held in the Holiday Inn East.

While it is most certainly a violation of a person's civil liberties, the problems with this program don't end there. Exactly how would this be carried out and by whom? How much will such a program cost taxpayers? Think of all the administrative work involved, the staff needed, the lab fees, etc. The next question is: Will it just stop with welfare recipients? What's next? How about making sure recipients of unemployment compensation aren't using their benefits for vacations or luxury items?

For far too long, Pennsylvania's welfare policy was "when in doubt, give it out. " But under Gov. Corbett's leadership, the Department of Public Welfare has taken swift action to ensure scarce taxpayer funds are not lost to waste, fraud or abuse. Pennsylvania and other states are facing unsustainable growth in welfare costs, without the revenue to offset it. At the current rate, the department could consume 50 percent of the state's budget by 2016. Continuing to deliver health and human services through a broken system will only cause taxpayers more frustration — at a higher tax rate.

After reading Paul Carpenter's Dec. 23 column on KidsPeace reform, I was struck by his ability to oversimplify the matter. When children are placed in foster care, their lives are dramatically changed forever. This is a reality that all in the agency are very aware of. It is extremely irresponsible of Mr. Carpenter to suggest that government agencies have "carte blanche" in regard to the removal of children from their homes. That suggests that our county human services, the foster homes, as well as our judicial system, have all placed money before the very mission for which they exist.

Too few people realize that there is a man-made disaster in New Orleans and perhaps other cities that were hit by Hurricane Katrina, and that is something that really should not be. To quote Robert Tracinski, editor of The Intellectual Activist, New Orleans is "a city corrupted by the welfare state." A percentage of the people in New Orleans who are now being housed and fed by the government and various aid agencies were living in tenements. They will continue to free-load, letting others feed and house them.

In what is believed to be a landmark case, the state Supreme Court has ruled that an Allentown couple whose toddler was killed by a baby sitter can't get records of a state review into what Lehigh County child welfare caseworkers might have known about the baby sitter. The court reversed decisions by Commonwealth Court judges and a Lehigh County judge who said Harry R. and Cherie C. Wagner Jr. were entitled to state Department of Public Welfare documents of an investigation into the 1999 death of Andrew Wagner.

My husband told me about a bumper sticker he saw while he was picking our daughter up at Longswamp Elementary in Mertztown. "Can't feed 'em? Then don't breed 'em," it said. I called the school and found the car owner was an employee. Her defense was that she witnessed abuse of the welfare system. I agree that is something to be in an uproar over. But another problem needs to be addressed. This is an employee who would see free or reduced-cost lunch applications. It is very inappropriate for someone within the system to display such an opinion on the school lot every day when it totally contradicts what the school offers to needy children.

A Philadelphia group begins a march to Harrisburg to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless in light of reforms to the welfare system. Some of them live in a city shantytown they call Ridgeville, after Gov. Tom Ridge, whom they want to see.

A Bethlehem woman was held for court yesterday on charges she defrauded the public welfare system. Mary Ann Repnyeck, 36, of 130 Graham Place, illegally obtained $1,127 in food stamps between June 1, 1990, and Nov. 30, 1990, by concealing wages, according to the complaint. Repnyeck, who appeared before District Justice Joseph Leo of Easton, is free on $2,500 recognizance bail.

To the Editor: This is in response to a Nov. 19 editorial which referenced proposals to "fine tune" the current welfare system. While it is often an attractive proposition to `fiddle` with a successful program, there exists a real probability that any changes, while well-intentioned, could result in a reduction in program effectiveness. As supervisor in the employment and training department of the Lehigh County Assistance Office, I speak from experience that the `work first` approach has been the spark necessary to ignite many individuals to take a serious look at their own self-sufficiency.

An elderly Monroe County man who was hoarding more than $171,000 in stock claimed he was broke so the state would cover his nursing home bills. A Bucks County woman received welfare benefits and food stamps for her two children, although they no longer lived with her. And a Bethlehem woman hid that she was working for a temporary employment service so she could continue getting cash assistance. They were among hundreds caught cheating the state's welfare system last fiscal year, according to a report released this week.